MUHAMMAD PEARUDDIN Vs. DEPUTY MINISTER TRANSPORT GOVERNMENT OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this case the petitioner, Muhammad Pearuddin, has moved the High Court for grant of a writ in the nature of certiorari under Article 227 of the Constitution for setting aside the order of the Deputy Minister of Transport, dated the 20th September 1963, by which he allowed the appeal of respondent No. 3, Janardhan Prasad Choudhary, under Section 64 of the Motor Vehicles Act and granted him a permit for both the up and down service on the inter State Dumka Suri route.

(2.) On behalf of the petitioner the main contention put forward is that the appeal preferred by respondent No. 3 before the Deputy Minister of Transport was barred by limitation under Rule 70 of the Motor Vehicles Rules. It was pointed out that the order of the State Transport Authority was made on the 31st March, 1962, and respondent No. 3 filed a memorandum of appeal before the secretary to the Government in the Political Department on me 28th April, 1962. The memorandum of appeal was not accompanied by a copy of the order of the State Transport Authority which was furnished by respondent No. 3 on the 9th July, 1962. The argument put forward on behalf of the petitioner was that the appeal was properly filed only on the 9th July, 1962, when, the copy of the order was furnished by respondent No. 3, and, therefore, it was barred by limitation, and the Deputy Minister had no authority to decide the appeal in favour of respondent No. 3. In our opinion the argument put forward on behalf of the petitioner, is well founded and must be accepted as correct. Rule 70 provides as follows :

(3.) Acting, therefore, in exercise of our authority under Article 227 of the Constitution, we set aside the order of the Deputy Minister of Transport, dated the 20th September, 1963, with regard to the appeal preferred by respondent No. 8, namely, appeal No. A3-8012/62, and order that (sic) that appeal should be dismissed.